


The Hogwarts Manifesto

by eternaleponine



Series: Where There Is A Flame [28]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, And the Epilogue IS Bullpoop, Gen, Serious Discussion of Magical School Reform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-06
Updated: 2018-06-06
Packaged: 2019-05-19 02:27:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14864915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eternaleponine/pseuds/eternaleponine
Summary: Madi realizes that because of where in the year their birthday's fall, she and her BFF won't start Hogwarts in the same year.  Lexa comes to the rescue, because that's what parents do.





	The Hogwarts Manifesto

Lexa looked up from packing Madi's lunch for the next day to see her daughter scowling down at a piece of paper, her pencil clenched so tight her knuckles were white. "You okay?" she asked. "Do you need help?"

Madi shoved the worksheet away. "No," she said. "This is _easy_." She had already declared herself 'so done' with fourth grade, and as the school year wound to a close, it really did seem like most of the homework that was assigned was just busy work. 

"What's wrong then?" Lexa asked, because the furrows in Madi's forehead hadn't eased. 

Madi looked down, her gaze on everything but Lexa. "Just... my birthday is _before_ September 1, and Adria's is _after_."

"Oookay..." Lexa wasn't sure what the significance was, so she left it hanging there, hoping that Madi would eventually elaborate. When she didn't, she finally asked, "Is that a problem?"

"Yes!" Madi looked up. "September 1 is when school starts at Hogwarts! And if my birthday is before, and Adria's is after, we won't get our letters the same year!"

_Oh._ Hogwarts wasn't real. Madi knew that. Lexa knew that she knew that, and knew that Madi knew that she knew that. But it didn't take a genius to figure out that this wasn't _really_ about Hogwarts. This was about the fact that Adria's mother had said she would come back in the summer, and summer was only days away at this point, and Madi was worried that she might lose her best friend.

Which made Lexa exactly the wrong person to be handling this, because what did she know about appropriate coping mechanisms for the loss of a best friend? Her answer to being separated from Luna had been to shut down and not make any friends ever again, until senior year of high school when Costia gave her no choice. 

But Clarke was out running errands, and she couldn't just ignore it. She couldn't just dismiss it because regardless of when their birthdays fell, no owls would be swooping down with letters in their talons. The scenario Madi was worried about was pure fantasy, but her distress was very well.

_Think, Lexa._ Because Madi was looking at her, waiting for an answer, for her Mama who she loved and trusted to find a solution, a way to make things better, a way to make it right. And suggesting that the American school of magic might have a January cutoff for registration wasn't going to work, because as far as Madi was concerned, there _was_ no American magical school, because what JK Rowling had created was offensive and an abomination. They hadn't even known that Madi knew the term 'cultural appropriation' until The School That Shall Not Be Named came up at one point.

"Well," she said after what felt like too long, "when your letter arrives, we can write a letter back to the school and ask if, since your birthday is so close to September 1 anyway, you can defer and wait until the next year to attend, since you and Adria are so close, and you'll be even farther away from home than most students, coming from America and all."

Madi mulled this over for a moment, examining the plan for flaws, maybe. "What would you write?" she finally asked. 

_Shit._ "Let's see. 'Dear...'" She paused, trying to remember the end of the books. It had been a while, and some of the details were a little fuzzy. "Do you know who is in charge of Hogwarts at this point?"

"No," Madi said, "because the Epilogue is bullshit." 

As soon as the word was out of her mouth her eyes went wide and her cheeks flushed. She stared at Lexa, waiting to see how she would react. Lexa was trying very hard not to laugh, because laughing would only encourage her, and she shouldn't reinforce swearing as acceptable behavior. "You're not wrong," she finally said, when she could do it without any giggles escaping, "but we should probably avoid using that particular word."

Madi's head bobbed quickly in agreement, obviously relieved she wasn't in trouble.

"'Dear Head of Hogwarts,' then," Lexa continued. "We'll fill in the real name when we know it."

"Okay."

"'Thank you very much for your kind invitation for our daughter Madi to study at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We are very excited that you have made the decision to open up to the school to international students and Madi is honored to be among those selected to participate in this new program.' 

"'As we are sure you are aware, being away from home and family for the first time can be very stressful, particularly when one will be in an entirely new environment and without a single familiar face. Because the wizarding community is so small, many students at Hogwarts already know children attending Hogwarts when they arrive, but that would not be the case with our daughter.'

"'We have reason to believe that another promising young witch, Adria Waters—'"

"Why does there have to be different words for boys and girls?" Madi asked. "Why are boys wizards and girls witches? What if a boy wants to be called a witch? What if a girl wants to be called a wizard?"

"I'm not sure," Lexa said. 

"And what happens if there is a transgender student? The dorms are separated boys and girls, but what happens if someone was born in a boy body or a girl body and feels like they opposite? Who decides what dorm they live in? They better get to stay in whatever dorm fits with what they feel like inside." 

"That's a very good question," Lexa said. "Unfortunately, it's not one that I have the answer to." 

"And why does everyone in the books end up in a boy-girl relationship?" Madi demanded. "That's bullpoop, too!"

"I absolutely agree," Lexa said. "The books were written over twenty years ago – at least the first ones – and at that time it probably would have been seen as less acceptable to include non-straight characters in a book that was intended for children, but—"

"That's _bullpoop_!" Madi said, her voice rising. "Kids who aren't straight deserve to read about characters like them, too, even when they're young! Or kids whose parents aren't straight! If you don't have anyone in the books you read that looks like you, no families that look like yours, how is that going to make you feel? And other kids, if they only ever see people who are just like them, how are they going to understand that not everyone is, and that's okay, too?!" 

Lexa wasn't sure how to respond. Madi was right, but how was it that a not-quite-ten-year-old was able to so easily grasp what the adult producers of media – books, movies, TV – couldn't seem to wrap their minds around? 

In the end, she didn't have to say anything, because Madi was only just getting started. "And why are there no disabled students at Hogwarts? Not one single one that we see. Are there magical elevators – lifts – in Hogwarts if they had a student in a wheelchair? Or even someone like Raven, whose leg might get really tired with all of those stairs? And how would Emori hold on to a broom? Do they have adaptive technology for that? Because it wouldn't be fair if she just didn't get to fly or play Quidditch if she wanted to! And what about a blind student? Dogs aren't on the list of approved pets, but what if they had a guide dog? It had better be allowed! And is there magical sign language for deaf students? What if they can't speak clearly? Can they cast spells in sign?" 

Lexa's eyes stung with tears, and she went around to the other side of the island and pulled Madi into a tight hug. Madi squirmed for a second, then surrendered, putting her arms around Lexa and holding on. "What else?" Lexa asked, when the lump in her throat had eased enough for her to be able to speak again. "What else needs to be fixed at Hogwarts?"

"The House system, for one," Madi said. "I know that they need some way to divide students up to make it easier to keep track of everyone and whatever, but I don't think that the current Sorting system is the best option, because no one is just one thing to begin with, and putting students who all are the same as far as personality goes together might reinforce the good things that they have in common, but it also might exacerbate the ones they share that aren't so good – like in Gryffindor they're brave and everything, but also they don't always _think_ very much about things before they do them – so wouldn't it make more sense to mix students of diverse backgrounds and personalities? Then it might help people learn to be more understanding and respectful of people who aren't just like them, and maybe don't always think like them." 

She paused. "I don't know exactly how else to do the Sorting, and of course I wouldn't want the Sorting Hat to feel bad about having done things the same way for so long, because really it was just doing its job the way that it was told, but I still think there could be a better way, and anyway the Sorting Hat is _old_ and maybe it would like to finally retire and do something else for a while." 

Lexa swallowed back a laugh. "I'm sure that it wouldn't be offended," she said. "It changed its song from year to year along with what was going on in the world outside, so I think that it would understand that times change."

"Yeah," Madi said. "Which is another thing. I think that along with magical subjects, they should teach some Muggle subjects, too. Because, I mean, _come on_. Even wizards should know what electricity is – and that it's e-leck-tri-city, not eckel-tri-city – and know how the Muggle world works. Muggle-born students adapt to the wizarding world, but maybe the wizarding world needs to learn how to really exist alongside of the Muggle world, too."

"That's a good point," Lexa said. 

"Also, I think that the House Cup is not the best idea, or at least not how they do it. I know that competition can be a good thing, because it helps people push themselves to do their best, but not when if it means that everyone is always competing so much that it doesn't even feel like they're all one school, together. I think that students should be rewarded for making positive contributions to the school community, either individually or in groups. And points should never be taken away from a whole House because one student does something that they shouldn't. It's not fair to punish everyone for the actions of one person, or a small group of people!"

"Not only is it not fair," Lexa said, "it's a war crime. Collective punishment is banned in the 1949 Geneva Convention." 

"SEE?!" Madi's eyes lit up. "So that _definitely_ needs to be stopped." She paused. "I should probably be writing this all down. So when you send the letter, we can also tell them about the things that they should think about changing." She looked over at the fireplace. "Is that a real fireplace, or one of those fake gas ones?"

"It's real," Lexa said. 

"Okay, good," Madi said. "We'll need to find out how to get it on the Floo Network so that you can come and visit." 

"You can't Floo into Hogwarts," Lexa reminded her. 

"No, but you can Floo into Hogsmeade and walk to the school," Madi said. "Or students could visit with their parents when they go down to the village, which I think should not be limited to third years and above, at least if it's to visit with family, because eleven is way too young to be away from your parents for months and months at a time without seeing them. It doesn't even make sense. People need their families!"

"You're right," Lexa said. "I would miss you way too much if you were away for all that time and I didn't get to see you." 

"I would miss you, too. So if I'm going to go to Hogwarts, they would have to figure out how I could see you way more often then just at Christmas and during the summer. _Way_ more often. Maybe not every _single_ weekend, but at _least_ every other." 

"Absolutely," Lexa said. 

"And seriously, all those kids with not many adults? It didn't really work out that well for them, did it? They were so desperate for teachers that they hired someone with Evil sticking out of the back of his head, and they didn't even notice!"

"You have a very good point," Lexa said, biting the inside of her lip to keep from smiling. 

"I'm gonna go get some paper," Madi said. "I have a lot of work to do."

* * *

"I love our daughter," Clarke said, when Lexa recounted the conversation to her later that night. "There is no way in hell I would ever let her go away to Hogwarts. It would be like they dimmed the sun... like we had a Dementor living in the basement, sucking all the joy out of the house."

Lexa pushed back her hair and kissed her temple. "Lucky for us, Hogwarts isn't real." She let her hand slide down Clarke's arm, lacing their fingers together. "I called her counselor, by the way. Made an appointment. She needs to talk to someone about it in real terms, not wizarding ones. Although her counselor did say that my suggestion of writing the letter asking to defer enrollment was telling her, in the 'symbolic language that she'd chosen, that we, as grown-ups, would do everything we could to keep her and Adria together, but that we didn't have the final say in the situation', and that it was probably the best way I could have handled it." 

"See?" Clarke said. "You're better at this parenting thing than you realize. She calmed down, and that was the most important thing." 

Lexa sighed. "She got distracted from the possibility of Adria leaving today, but that's not going to go away. Not until her mother either shows up or we know for sure that she never will."

"I don't even know what we should be hoping for," Clarke said. "Other than that she gets to stay. But whether it would be better for her – Adria – to get to see her mother again or not, I don't know." 

"I don't either," Lexa said. "I just know that I've already been talking to some of my professors about what legal recourse Echo and Luna might have if she _does_ show up and try to take Adria away. Unfortunately, there's not a lot they can do without putting her at risk of being put in the foster care system... although they would look for family members first, and there's Adria's aunt, but..." She sighed. "I don't know what it would do to them to lose her. Talk about Dementors..."

"And Echo can't even have chocolate to feel better," Clarke said. 

"Yeah." Lexa wrapped her arms around Clarke, and Clarke held her back just as tight. Neither of them liked feeling helpless, but in the situation, they were. "Cocoa?" she suggested, because there was no way either of them was sleeping any time soon.

"I'll check on Madi," Clarke said. "You get it started."


End file.
